Monday, August 6, 2012

Imitation of Life (1934)

“Bow
your head! You got to learn to take it!”

Imitation of Life is one of the best
films to have been released in the 1930s. Everything about the film is
perfection.

Bea
Pullman (Claudette Colbert) has been raising her young daughter Jessie by
herself since her husband died. During the day she drops Jessie off at daycare
so she can continue her husband’s work as a maple syrup seller. Jessie pleads
with her mother not to take her to daycare she wants to stay with her. This
breaks Bea’s heart but there is nothing she can do. That day a black woman
comes to Bea’s backdoor asking if she is the one who put the ad in the paper
for help. Bea says no but invites the woman in. Delilah (Louise Beavers) is the
woman’s name and she tells Bea that she is willing to work for just room and
board for her and little girl Peola. Bea lets Delilah and her daughter stay
with them.

One
morning before she leaves for work Bea has some of Delilah’s pancakes and they
are great. While walking down the boardwalk during work Bea comes across a store
that is for sale. She has the idea that she can open a pancake shop on there
with Delilah since her pancakes are so good. She goes home that night to give
her friend the good news, Delilah is unsure at first but sees that Bea needs to
do something more with her life. Bea sweet talks the painter, the restaurant
supplier and the landlord into giving her some good deals with the payments.

In
a few years Bea and Delilah’s restaurant has become a hit. They live in the
back of the store with their daughters. Jessie and Peola had left for school
one morning but Peola comes running back into the house crying because Jessie
said she was black. Peola is very light skinned she can pass for white and has
been at school. Bea is upset with her daughter but Delilah says it is alright
because Peola is black and should accept it.

On
a rainy afternoon a man comes into the store. He asks to try some pancakes for
free since he has sampled them all over the country. He likes what he tastes
and tells Bea she should package the flour. In another few years the women are
very wealthy. Delilah still lives with Bea because as she put it who would take
of her and Jessie.

Jessie
is happily away at school but Peola keeps wandering around leaving every school
she goes to because she cannot come to grips with who she is. At a party Bea
meets a man named Steve Archer (Warren William) who is very nice and charming. They
begin to see each other every day after that. Jessie comes home from school for
a vacation. Bea is happier than ever to have her daughter home. Delilah gets a
letter saying that Peola has left school and should be on her way home. The letter
was written four days previously and Peola has not come home. Delilah and Bea
travel down south to where the school is. They find Peola working in a
restaurant. When Delilah goes up to her daughter Peola denies knowing her
mother and yells asking if she looks like she could be Delilah’s daughter. She
runs out of the shop. While Bea and Delilah have been away Jessie has fallen in
love with Steve.

Some
time later Peola comes back home but she and her mother get into an argument that
ends with Peola telling her mother she never wants to see her again and
storming out of the house. Delilah is left with guilt and broken heart which
makes her sick. Bea is now left to face the fact that she is losing her best
and closest friend. Delilah dies missing and calling out to her child. At the
funeral Peola runs up to her mother’s coffin saying how sorry she is.

The
next day Bea tells Steven they can no longer be together since she knows that
her daughter is in love with him.

Claudette
Colbert and Louise Beavers were fantastic. Colbert no matter what type of role
she played was always flawless she was such a great actress. You could feel her
character’s love for her daughter and her friend she played the character so
well. Beavers was also great. It was nice to see her in a lead role not playing
the typical house maid or mammy. Even though
she was cheerful at the beginning I felt bad for her character right from the
start. It was so sad to see her suffer because her daughter was not comfortable
with herself and that was because Beavers knocked her part out she was perfect.
I have to give a huge mention to Fredi Washington who played Peola at nineteen.
The woman was beautiful. Whenever she was in a scene I could not get over how
beautiful she was. Washington was a very good actress as well her scenes with
Beavers were heartbreaking and very strong. Warren William was good as a love
interest for Colbert. Usually he is some kind of a bad guy in his films but
here he was a nice man who really cared for Bea and Jessie.

Imitation of Life is a flawless film (If
there is to be a flaw it is that Delilah chose to stay and take of Bea when she
was given so much money as if to say a black woman would not know what to do if
she was not taking care of a white family and that not a lot of time was given
to Delilah and Peola). It wonderfully preached racial equality and justice. Films
have the power to be significant in history and Imitation of Life is certainly a significant film largely because
it dealt with the issue of race before it was common to do so. Imitation of Life is very touching and
teaches everyone either black or white to make the most of who they are and not
to be afraid of that.

About Me

I am une cinephile to every inch of the word. I started this blog to share my love for movies and what I have learned about them along the way. I like and watch all kinds of movies. For the movie lover in all of you out there, I hope you enjoy this blog.